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Honolulu property values are famously stratospheric, but the city needs to capture a larger benefit from that value for the public. The transit-oriented development (TOD) rules that were drawn up in connection with the rail project have yet to deliver on the promise of incentivizing enough affordable housing units to be built in the areas surrounding the rail stops.
The advance of a proposed rental development, the Plaza at Ala Moana, represents another opportunity to realize some of that objective, as long as the Honolulu City Council presses for more affordable housing so acutely needed, without sacrificing too much in exchange.
At this point, the proposal falls short of that objective; its offer of affordable rentals do not yet offset the visual impact that ultimately could result. Council members should find ways to lessen that impact, especially as the Plaza would be followed by additional towers where the shopping center parking deck now stands.
This initial project proposal, Resolution 20-315, comes before the Council today, for the development of the mixed-use development at 451 Piikoi St., at Kona Street.
The landowner, GGP Ala Moana LLC, is the same as for the adjacent Ala Moana Center, which has been transitioning into a combined retail and residential complex, already with high-end condominiums on its makai frontage.
The Plaza units would not be luxury condos but rental apartments, 583 of them, along with 1,570 square feet of commercial space. The down side: Brookfield Properties — which owns the shopping center, with this project on its northwestern corner — is seeking to build to a maximum height of 400 feet, four times the limit allowed under the current zoning.
TOD rules intend to allow exemptions, but these push the envelope. Brookfield also wants to encroach into the setback from Kona Street by 21 feet, and boost the floor area ratio from 2.5 to 7.0. Impacts on parking at the center need to be discussed.
These density increases are significant, and are at the heart of some community opposition. The exemptions themselves are valued at $21.5 million. Some balance needs to be struck between this and what the community gains.
The city Department of Planning and Permitting has reviewed the application for the Interim Planned Development-Transit and Special District permits and has come up with a list of conditions to require in exchange for the added value.
The principal community benefit — setting aside 20% of the apartments (124 units) to be affordable by those earning 80% of area median income — has been endorsed by DPP. However, the agency rightly is pushing Brookfield to make more of those one-bedroom units rather than studios, and affordable for
45 years rather than the proposed 30 years.
The agency also advocates for more contributions toward bike lanes and other improvements to support multimodal transit, such as car-share and bike-share spaces on the property and easements for TheBus and TheHandi-van along Kona and Kona Iki streets.
The supporters of the project make the valid points that Oahu’s housing shortage is dire, and it is. The towers are being planned to make accommodations for the rail terminus at Ala Moana, so finding the right balance with this key partner is a delicate matter.
At the bottom line, however, the proximity of rail is an asset that will increase market rents and make money for Brookfield, and the 20% yield of small affordable units does not justify turning the entire area into a concrete canyon. The Council needs to push for better conditions — now, before a precedent is set that the public will come to regret.
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